Candidate paperwork pours in for local seats

The candidate slate is not quite set.
While several citizens have thrown their hats in the ring to serve on Loomis Basin public agencies with open seats, the list of candidates in the Loomis town council race was not final as of Loomis News press time on Tuesday.
Incumbent councilmen Walt Scherer and Miguel Ucovich completed the candidate filing process to run for re-election by Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline. However, since Russ Kelley is not seeking re-election to the council, the deadline to file as a candidate for the three open council seats was extended to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, for any individuals other than the incumbents.
Other qualified candidates for the three open council seats are Vic Markey and Sandra Calvert. Jason Kenoyer, Jeremy Sutter and Jo-Carol Arisman have pulled papers and had until Wednesday’s filing deadline to complete the process.
Three candidates have filed for two open seats on the Loomis Fire Protection District board of directors.
They are William Tudsbury and Chris Gibson, both incumbents, and Russ Kelley.
Tudsbury is serving his third term on the Loomis fire district board. He said he first got on the board to improve the service to Loomis.
“I think that we’ve continued to do that; it continues to get better and better,” Tudsbury said.
“With the passing of the benefit assessment, I thought I’d give it another term to make sure that everything is implemented the way it was intended.”
Gibson was appointed to fill a vacancy on the fire board almost two years ago. He was a fireman for the South Placer Fire District for nine years before going on to chiropractic school and opening his practice in Sacramento.
“I feel that having developed a successful chiropractic practice in Sacramento equips me with the knowledge and experience to work with the department on budgets and staffing among other issues,” Gibson said.
Kelley’s first term on the Loomis council ends in December. He said he decided to run for the fire board instead of for re-election to the council in order to devote more time to his family but still serve the community.
As a retired maintenance administration manager for SureWest in Roseville, Kelley said he has “a background in building fire systems, incident command, hazmat, damage control and facilities restoration.
“I believe I can contribute to the department and community,” he said.
Four candidates have qualified for the three open seats on the Penryn Fire Protection District board of directors. The candidates are Michael Posen, Thomas Bowling and Brian Myers, all three incumbents, and Phil Barger and Mike Cagle.
The Loomis Union School District has three open seats. Running unopposed will be incumbents Jeanne Duvall in District 3 and Mike Edwards in District 4.
Incumbent Tim Rudolph will face challenger Ann Baker in District 5.
Rudolph, who is retired from Intel where he worked in finance and marketing, was appointed to fill a vacancy on the board in the summer of 2006 and was elected to the school board in 2010.
Rudolph has two children and said he first ran, and is seeking re-election, because it is an opportunity to serve the community.
“I think the board has served very well,” Rudolph said.
“This board has acted very conservatively and responsibly and it’s the reason why we’re not in such dire financial conditions as many other school districts are. (This is) evidenced by the fact that we have not cut teachers and programs to the degree that other districts have.”
Baker, a past president of the Franklin Parent Teacher Club, has two children who have graduated from district schools and two children currently in the district.
“We have a really great school board,” Baker said.
“I think I can make it better with the background and experience I can bring. I’ve been very involved in the classroom, with the PTCS, served on many district committees, and it just seemed like the logical next step.
“I’m willing to shift my main volunteer time from other organizations and commit the time the school board.”
Follow the Loomis News to read more in coming weeks about all the local candidates running for public office in the Nov. 2 General Election.